Anyone on this board that doubts the Specialist/NYSE culpability should trade thin liquidity NYSE stocks for one day. You will understand the sentiment after things that you see in this environment, that you don't have time to see with liquid stocks. I strongly recommend that everyone go through this exercise once, to see the corruptness in full view. You will see front-running disguised as "price improvement", you will see orders posted on ECN's to manipulate the price, you will see Specialists illegally make use of hidden orders, etc., etc., etc.......and you will see the NYSE and it meek and timid Surveillance Division look the other way.......
Alliance bet to the end on wcom and enron, what else can be said... why would anyone invest with them. all of these geniuses from the floor are about to start studying for GED and applying for car washes. bunch of crooks, should have know damn well that pigs get slaughtered
To do what? This is such old news and it seems every time the market gets tough, everyone jumps on the specialists. All these allegations and wrongdoings are so damn old and have been exposed for decades. Everyone knows that the NYSE and the Specialist firms are part of an elite club to make money. A system that has a "governing" body, whose mission is also to turn a profit, is bound to be corrupt. I just can't believe that these improprieties have been allowed to continue during the electronic age.[/QUOTE] As opposed to what? ANy corporation or small business in the US? You mean like when a major firm lays off 1000s of workers so that the top management can still get nice bonuses for issuing "elaborate" mission statements? I totally agree with the lawyer who made the announcement, that Reed totally missed the boat, when he deemed the NYSE a very functional entity. Obviously, he didn't have the gutts to shake the tree - I'm sure he was probably bought for a handsome amount.[/QUOTE] Ok lets look at the alternatives. Hmmm, we have Nasdaq which was pure highway robbery before any regulations and now is still as bad, except that the MMs dont make nearly as much money as they used to. Hey remember COCO? Or maybe the ARCA bandits are better? Or even lets take a look our wonderful CALPERS, the biggest pension fund in the US. Gee let me pay someone a hefty fee to manage my retirement money and hope I make something. But when I lose half of it in a few months, the wonderful CALPERS upper management still makes their millions of dollars while I am crying over my life savings. And this is the entity complaining about NYSE being unfair? Let this be the start of ending this corrupt party !!!!!! [/QUOTE] Or maybe you just need to wake up and realize that this is life. I AM NOT in any way claiming that NYSE & Gang are nice guys. Yeah they are scumbags. But we traders should be the last ones complaining about them. How they screw us is nothing in regards to what they do to the masses. They NEVER hook up the public, but they definitely do hook up traders. Yeah I get real mad when I get screwed by a specialist. But overall, I think the specialist system is great for a trader. Looking in retrospect, most of the trades where I thought I got screwed, was nothing more than my stubborness in fighting the tape. And in many other cases, it's just dumb traders constantly causing noise in the stock's trend. So all of us should not bitch at all. Investors and mom & pop, that's who should really be complaining. Of course CALPERS is only looking out for their own interests. I bet it's just more excuses for their performance. Hypothetically if they had gotten this fill and that fill they would have been up this much more and blah blah.
Agreeing, in whole, with Mecro on this one. EDIT: Not in whole, but specifically regarding the relevance to individual traders.
"Anyone on this board that doubts the Specialist/NYSE culpability should trade thin liquidity NYSE stocks for one day. You will understand the sentiment after things that you see in this environment, that you don't have time to see with liquid stocks." Very true.
Not that I disagree with you on points, just didn't really care about the others so much. All of what you're saying is true in my mind. lol
Actually I mostly trade the low volume NYSE stocks. They have been my best performers. Most of you guys truly have little clue.
Mecro, Everyone has an opinion, and you obviously have yours. To quote you: The NYSE is supposed to be a public institution, and not behave like a private one. Although the SEC regulates, the NYSE's charter says that they are supposed to maintain a fair and orderly market, and not put profit-making ahead of that. So, I TOTALLY disagree with you on this point. Additionally, the MM's are making much less money, since automation has been fully engineered into the Nasdaq. Is it a perfect place, obviously not. However, things are tons better than they were a few short years ago. The NYSE could equally improve, if they focused on automation, and getting rid of the 'ol Boyz Club. So, once again, I totally disagree with you here. Unfortunately, there is no incentive by the top brass to make changes, because the ramifications of such action, would directly effect their and Specialist Firm's profits. The same thing you criticize corporate America of in your above quote. No one if forcing me to trade NYSE, and I do make money trading. However, the improprieties are abound, and these improprieties cost us traders/investors in the pocket book, no doubt. Specialists are nothing more than Day Traders with a huge advantage. Give me the same advantage that they have, and I triple my profits without blinking. Take away their large advantage, and guess what, there is no incentive for them be Specialists, and we will see the quick demise of the Open Outcry System. I will continue to trade NYSE, because I make money there. Dealing with these issues are a tough pill to swallow, but ultimately I have a choice as to whether I want to be a trader or not. And I would never give it up, because I truly love it. Those that don't have a clue are the one's that accept the status quo without challenging it. We will never have a perfect world, but there is sure room for some hefty improvement.